Sunday, Philippines. Another peaceful morning in the 'Children of Heaven' – an orphanage run by mostly Catholic priests and nuns. The organization was built back in the early 90's by a middle aged couple who lost their twins from an unknown disease. After spending years of trying to bear children again, Cynthia Mercedes, the wife of an established business man, lost all hope of hearing a child's cry and laughter in the years coming. The poor lady became meek and weak. She had episodes of depression and anxiety and it slowly ate away her typical vigor and pleasing personality. She gets irritated easily, screams for no reason at all and eventually became violent but her husband never left her side no matter what. One day, her spouse Mark Mercedes while in the midst of their usual brunch date, proposed the most absurd idea he has ever thought and she has ever heard since the beginning of their relationship. All they needed was a couple months to build not another empire as a source of income but a sanctuary for those lost souls by either choice or by fate. Both tried their hardest to make it as homely as possible and as welcoming like how they would if they're their own.
"Father?" A soft spoken woman called out as she silently approaches the man he called by that name. She is dressed in an ankle length, light grey tunic with a white thin scapular on top. Around her neck is a wimple of the same shade as her sleeved clothing. Protruding from an inch of her forehead is what looks like a thick wavy hair, while the rest is covered and secured under the traditional veil of her profession. He was caught staring at the large scale painting, enclosed in a glass case and is well lit with a fluorescent lamp on the roofing of the vitrine. "Padre, andito na naman siya." She calmly pointed out. "Pangatlo nayan ah… at ang aga pa. I already told her to bring the kid to the hospital, not here. We can't do anything about her son's condition." The Father sighed as if the world was put upon his shoulders. "I know we vowed to help all the children that comes close to our establishment but what Mrs. Agua mentioned to us that night is taboo." The lady added while her head remained slightly bowed. "Even if it is indeed true, we are incapable of doing what she is asking us to do. On top of that, there is just too many risks and we can be revoked." The Father firmly stated. "If it is what she claims, can't we contact someone who is an expert on this field, Father Muñoz?"
"No we can't Sister Gutierrez. Unless there is some kind of solid proof. It will also take at least a week for someone to come to entertain our request"
"Then what do you suggest us do? She is waiting outside."
"Let her in. I'll talk to her in my office." Father Muñoz requested.
The young nun wasted no time. She hurriedly walked towards Mrs. Agua, signaled the agitated mother to enter the building which brought an expression of relief to the woman's eyes. "Usap daw po kayo ni Father Muñoz" Sister Gutierrez affirmed her of the positive message. "Okay sister" was her brief answer. Sister Niña Gutierrez knows the ins and outs of the re-purposed mansion. When she was eleven, both her mom and dad abandoned her one night while she was still sound asleep. Her family earned enough to eat only once a day but she never heard her parents complain about money or being hungry… until that one incident where her mom, perhaps enticed with temporary riches and a nice house to stay, was caught cheating on her husband. She was forgiven but it was never the same. Now struck with a painful empty stomach, aching head and cold nights, Niña got by with smokes, drugs and what little scraps she can find but how she obtained them was something people call immoral but for her, it was survival. With a sudden change of lifestyle and an increase of vices, she only lasted two days before collapsing at a busy street. When she regained her consciousness, Niña was already dressed cleanly, lying down on a simple yet comfortable bed… the first time she felt a soft mattress. A light meal was prepared on the bedside table with the Bible as the only adornment. From then on, she lived with only one goal in mind, to return the favor and make sure she can help as many lost souls just like she was. Nine years have passed, now she's a full pledged nun… one of the youngest in the covenant.
It did not take long, Sister Gutierrez is now in front of a sturdy wooden door. She knocked three times before turning the knob open. Both of them entered the spacious room that is full of scriptures and religious artifact. Other than the main acacia table used by Father Muñoz for official work, right at the center where guests are served coffee, is a glass table. It's decorated with a plain white vase and a single stem of Ylang-Ylang with 5 full bloomed flowers. They waited for Father Muñoz for a couple more minutes until the door finally opened but he was not alone. Along with him was a seminarian in his late twenties. "Sorry, did you wait long? I was on the phone with Vatican and I brought Gerald here as a witness." Father Muñoz started. "It is fine Father. It wasn't that long and we helped ourselves with coffee and a light snack." Sister Gutierrez replied. "Alright then. Let's get started."
Mrs. Agua started her story describing how intelligent and well behaved her son is. She added that her son has not missed Sunday mass for three years now and has never seen belittling anyone of his same age. So according to her, what she saw he did that day was very strange for a 'good' kid. She claimed it started a week ago where she's getting reports from classmates and even neighborhood friends that they were either bullied by word and worst physically attacked by Vincent with either stones or anything sharp he can find. Thinking those were just pranks and lies, the faithful mother ignored the gossips. One afternoon, she got a call from the principal asking her to visit the school to talk about her son's misconduct. When she arrived at the head teacher's office, her son was also there carrying his bag pack. When asked why, he simply told her he has to go home but there's still two hours left for classes to end. "He hurt his Religion teacher. Your son was too noisy during her lecture but when he got told off, he threw his pencil case at her." Mrs. Agua restated the principal's statement. Vincent remained silent all throughout the session.
She waited for her son's last class to finish. The shade of the big Narra helped Mrs. Agua relax a bit. Soon after, the students swarmed the grounds and there she saw his son dragging his bag on dusty road. One concerned teacher approached him and maybe reprimanded him for doing what he did but her son swayed the bag and hit the poor guy in his face. She hurriedly came to the rescue and make sure to apologize. Since then, her son became sleepless, writes weird symbols and murmurs in the air. She finished by confirmed that she already brought her son to a specialist but they can't find any mental problem. It was a long discussion.
"Bring him over tonight, after dinner. Let him sleep here and we will do our own observation tomorrow." Father Muñoz stated, slightly lifting the heavy air in the room.
On the coming days, a terrible news broke the internet and it was all about the tragedy in the 'Children of Heaven'.